Marta Rojas


Marta Rojas is a Cuban journalist, historian, historical fiction writer, and revolutionary heroine. A witness to the 26 July 1953 assault on the Moncada Barracks, she reported on the subject of censorship to Revista Bohemia.

Early years and education

Marta Rojas, a tailor's daughter, was born in Santiago de Cuba, on 17 May 1928. She studied at the Escuela Normal. Though she thought she wanted to be a physician, she changed her mind once she arrived in Havana, graduating from the Escuela Profesional de Periodismo Manuel Márquez Sterling.

Career

Rojas worked for Revista Bohemia magazine, and after the revolution, also for Verde Olivo and Trabajo. She worked for the newspaper Granma since its founding, covering numerous national and international events. She also served as a war correspondent in Vietnam. Rojas wrote several novels dealing with the founding of the Cuban nation and the struggle of the mestizos since the 18th century. Turning to historical fiction, she has published several books, including Moncada, La Generación del Centenario, El juicio del Moncada, Tania la Guerrillera and El que debe vivir. In 1992 an extract translated by Jean Stubbs and Pedro Perez Sarduy from Rojas's novel El columpio de Rey Spencer was included in the anthology Daughters of Africa, edited by Margaret Busby.
Rojas has received numerous awards, such as Casa de las Americas Prize, the José Martí National Journalism Award, in recognition of her life's work; and the Premio Nacional de Periodismo.

Selected works